Continuous Care in Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery

Few go into recovery programs with the intention of putting in the time, effort and emotional strain to achieve only a short term recovery.

It’s the goal of most patients in alcohol and drug addiction recovery treatment programs to achieve sobriety that is maintained over the rest of their lifetime.

The detox and subsequent treatment and therapy programs are simply too intensive, and even those patients who are in court ordered treatment enjoy the same level of statistical success because the programs, simply put, work.

What can’t be guaranteed for any given patient is how long the program’s education and skill building components will have a positive effect on the patient’s life. The fact, is that the patient has the most control over the success or failure of the therapy. There are, however, many things the recovery program can offer which will help the patient maintain sobriety long into the future, without sacrificing the quality of a sober life.

Studies have shown that a residential or inpatient recovery program will offer the patient the greatest chance of recovery that lasts a lifetime. The first several stages of recovery are best supervised by a program that offers superior medical, psychological, and physical therapies that will assist the patient in overcoming some of the most difficult moments in recovery. Some recovery programs offer exotic or luxurious accommodations which the patient will enjoy while doing the difficult work of recovering. While the patient should benefit from a soothing, calm recovery facility that will aid in the kind of work recovery entails, having a resort vacation experience during recovery is not necessarily the best thing for the patient. The quality of the recovery program is not empirically influenced by its location. However, the living quarters and arrangements the patient experiences should not be the type that make the patient substantially uncomfortable beyond the discomfort that accompany most patients in a recovery program.

Rather, the homey and comfortable recovery program facility will allow the patient to get back to their life in a way that actually mirrors real life. Once the medical phase of alcohol and drug recovery addiction treatment has passed, the more normal the facilities and comparable to real places the patient will experience after recovery, the easier it is to transition the skills and learning from recovery into the real world. Most patients will stay in shared rooms with a roommate, which allows the formation of a deep and meaningful relationship that will last beyond recovery. The shared living situation also helps each patient stay on task with their goals, allowing accountability and relationships to form outside of the treatment professionals who are supporting recovery for all.

A recovery facility should feel like home to the patient. It should be a place where it’s safe to explore both the medical aspects of recovery and also the psychological and emotional components of addiction. The relationships and bonds formed in this safe space are a critical part of recovery for most patients, and one of the most rewarding aspects of completing the recovery program.